Living in New York City is basically synonymous with living creatively. From perfecting the art of using your oven as storage space to the careful bribery of getting the coffee shop downstairs to accept your packages, the city can make it difficult to do anything… normally? And weddings are no exception. Venues’ rental fees alone can cost the same as entire weddings elsewhere, or they have waitlists that span years—or sometimes both. So pulling off a celebration without adding to your pre-existing pile of debt (thanks student loans) can involve some outside-the-box thinking.

But no matter how good that nontraditional wedding (and the savings it brings) sounds to you, there can be people—from coworkers to relatives to vendors themselves—who just. Don’t. Get. It. (Let me tell you about that one time my friend’s mom said my pizza truck–catered wedding equaled “people taking money out of the envelopes.” Cringe.) But today? Today we’re talking to a photography duo that definitely does get it, and they are all about making it easier to pull off (including rates that start at $1,150, wut): David Leon and Leila Jacque of Heart of Gold Weddings.

After seven years shooting weddings in New York City and beyond as LL Style Photo, longtime APW vendors David and Leila created Heart of Gold Weddings specifically for couples planning nontraditional weddings. As they told us:

There’s bravery in resisting the pressure to do or wear things that make you uncomfortable but would satisfy a wedding “tradition”; it makes us really proud to work for our brave couples.

The husband-and-wife team has loads of experience. Photographer Leila has worked for years as a wedding, fashion, and editorial photographer, and David (aka her assistant and Heart of Gold’s communication and organizational whiz/officiant) was an art director and stylist in a former life. And on top of that, there’s Heart of Gold’s flexible pricing, insider know-how of the best New York City spots to hold a ceremony or get great photos, and oh right—artistic, cinematic, heartfelt images…

If you’re drawn to Heart of Gold’s approach, you’re clearly not having a cookie-cutter wedding, so your photography needs aren’t going to be cookie-cutter either. With Heart of Gold there’s no forcing you into a package that’s really meant (and priced) for a two-hundred-guest wedding in a ballroom. Elopements (including up to ten guests) start at $1,150 (which can include David as your officiant!), and larger weddings start at $2,000 in New York City. Yes, you read that right. In New York City.

And if you’re not in New York City, no worries, they’ll come to you—no matter whether you’re in California, New Orleans, Barcelona (David and Leila are natives of Spain) or beyond—just contact them for a personalized quote.

If you, like me, are looking at all these amazing photos and wondering if you’re… cool enough for Heart of Gold Weddings to be your photographer, then for starters I feel you (it took me weeks to get up the courage to reach out to my own wedding photographer because her portfolio both amazed and intimidated me), and for seconds, you totally totally are. Take the experience of one of their recent clients:

A huge thank you to our photographers. I was expecting it to be the most nerve-wracking part of the day—neither of us like our photos being taken (who does!?) and you always have a thought in the back of your mind that the photos won’t turn out great. But Leila and David managed to catch the candid moments perfectly and they were so friendly and unobtrusive in their approach that I was amazed at all the beautiful seven-hundred-plus photos that they did take on the day—they are just perfect! We are so grateful for Leila and David for capturing our day so perfectly.

Now go look at the corresponding wedding photos and let it sink in that Heart of Gold Weddings makes people who “don’t like their photos being taken” look that good. Yuppp.

So if you’re having a non-traditional wedding—whether that’s a two-person elopement on the High Line or a family dinner at Taco Chulo (a big yasss from my husband and I who have ordered many a night’s worth of takeout there)—in New York City or beyond, don’t hesitate to contact Heart of Gold to have a photography package created just for you.

Heart of Gold photographs outside-the-box weddings and elopements in New York City and beyond—CLICK HERE TO GET IN TOUCH for a custom quote!

The post Feeling Like People Just Don’t Get Your Nontraditional Wedding? appeared first on A Practical Wedding: We’re Your Wedding Planner. Wedding Ideas for Brides, Bridesmaids, Grooms, and More.